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    Mexican Hat Lodge

    3.9 (114 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM

    Mexican Hat Lodge Photos

    MEXICAN HAT LODGE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

    More like Mexican Hat Lodge

    Recommended Reviews - Mexican Hat Lodge

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    Outside seating.

    Nice spot for steaks and beer in the middle of nowhere. It's a little pricey but steaks were cooked right and tasty. I will go back.

    My yummy dinner
    Stephanie M.

    I wasn't able to check in due to Verizon having no cellphone service in this sleepy little town. We stayed the night in town on our way up to Colorado so we came in for dinner my boyfriend had to try it. The staff was very friendly, warm and welcoming. They cook your steak to your perfection outdoors the menu is very simple and basic so if you're looking for pork, chicken or seafood don't bother coming in. Our steaks were very delicious they came with pinto beans and iceburg salad. You sit outdoors it's a lot of fun it's the type of place that you have to try at least once.

    Too rough for you back at the Mexican Hat?  Come on out here to Hotel BLM.  Plenty of room all to yourself, nothing per night, stay a month.
    Bob S.

    You don't come out here if you're looking for urban lodging cause this ain't urban. That said, this is about the middle of the road for a place to get a night's sleep after swallowing red Monument Valley dust all day. You can stop just outside the reservation and spend $200 a night at Gouldings; you'll dine on fry bread served 10 ways @ $18. Or you can keep driving another 150 miles to a large town like..., uh well the fact is there aren't any large towns out here. Apparently you were misinformed? Or you can head on out to anywhere that suits your fancy on BLM land. Kick the front seat back and hit the sack right there, nothing a night with unlimited stay at that same rate, too. Or best of all, why not try rubbing elbows with some read deal local people here instead? Best thing besides it's well managed and maintained is dinner at the Swingin' Steak restaurant next door. After the sun begins to set you'll be glad to have a place to call it a day over a delicious steak done to a turn by the owner himself. If you're lucky he'll take a minute in the middle of turning steaks to chat a bit, for example that he's also a rodeo cowboy. You'll quickly learn to enjoy that people out here sure aren't city people, and thank god for that. Terrific place, actually.

    Rod S.

    When you're in Mexican Hat, you can hand out five stars without perfect food. I don't think I've ever been to a restaurant that is absolutely one with its place. We parked, walked into the patio, we picked from the menu. That menu is five kinds of grilled meat, or a grilled veggie burger. Nothing else. This is like walking into a friends backyard and getting a steak on the grill. The weather was in the 70's and perfect. They have a big Santa Maria grill. The griller swings the platform across burning wood, not just coals. He knows his stuff. He grills the Texas toast as well. This is what I always imagined TT should be. The beans and salad are forgettable. The experience not. They do a standard $6 split plate right on the menu. We were not overly hungry, so we had two steaks and four plates. The food was at least as good as we could expect. A nearby table was a group of Irish having fun. We joined in a bit and had a nice visit. The dinner and evening perfect.

    Small menu, bug steak!
    Remm G.

    Dog friendly outdoor seating! The menu is tiny, one sided, and has like six things on it. BUT I'm convinced that's because their specialty is the steak! I don't know if it was because we had been on the road all day or maybe because we were all really hungry for something other than road trip snacks but my father swears this is "the best steak [he has] ever had in the United States" (he felt bad saying the steak he had in Italy was still his number one). Don't let the prices scare you the stab of meat you get must be weighed to be the advertised weight AFTER cooking because the ribeye is HUGE! I would most definitely stop here again given the chance.

    Sam P.

    The name pretty much covers your bases here. All except one thing. If they wanted to TRULY describe the experience it'd have to be called "The AWESOME Swingin Steak." Because that's what it was. Awesome. Or incredible. Or whatever your superlative adjective of choice is. The menu here is pretty basic. Various cuts of beef, plus a hamburger or veggie burger. Then for sides: pinto beans, salad, Texas toast. What that leaves out is that the quality of each of the ingredients is exceedingly high. These are excellent cuts of meat. And they're grilled to perfection. Much credit is due to the chef/grillmaster who obviously knows his trade. His questions about how we liked our steak cooked demonstrated that he understood the importance of proper preparation. One of my complaints is that until you visit a restaurant once, you don't know whether their medium rare is actually a medium for example. Here, we were asked to provide additional detail about what we wanted, ensuring that our steak was cooked just right. Overall, this really hit the spot. It was a laid back vibe (all outside), with cold beer and great meat. What more could you want after a long day of hiking?

    Jimminy C.

    Rolled through this little town and found this welcomed gem. Owner was super friendly, the room was large and clean. Great place to take a hike down to the river immediately below. The owners greeted us and talked with us with great conversation the next morning as we were packing up. The price is unexpectedly a little steep, but wasn't that bad (~$80). You just notice things like that when booking rooms every night for 30 days around the country. Thank you.

    Clean and cozy
    Cait K.

    I'm staying here right now. This place is really cool. First off, know what you're in for. This isn't a Hampton Inn. It's not a Super 8. It's something else entirely. Retro/vintage roadside hotel in little Mexican Hat, UT. Very western. A good deal (I paid $70 for the night, which was less than originally quoted, but he gave me a deal). Rooms are clean and cute! The website also gives you an idea of the size of the individual rooms so you won't be surprised. The outdoor "swinging steak house" is called such because the steaks are cooked on a fire on a swinging grate, by a cowboy. They cook their pinto beans on an old style cast iron wood stove. Service is fast and friendly, with plenty of 3.2% beer options (oh, Utah!). The food was great! I had the hamburger and it came with homemade Texas toast, salad, and pintos. Yum! The restaurant seems to draw passers by as well as motel guests. There's also a 7-11 across the street should you need anything conveniences that you forgot. I will TOTALLY stay here again if I am passing through another time- Mexican Hat is in the middle of nowhere, so I doubt it's seen as a destination, rather than a stop. Love it!

    Jocelyn M.

    The original plan was to camp in nearby Monument Valley, but after days of driving and sleeping in dirt, we opted to get a motel instead. Then we were faced with the problem of: Where? There weren't too many options in that part of the country. The nearest town was Mexican Hat, so on we drove. On our atlas it was listed in big letters so we assumed it was a decent size. What happens when we assume...? So the town only has about 100 people and a smattering of buildings on its main street. But holy cow, is it adorable. It's sat on the banks of the San Juan river and has a beautiful red rock backdrop. We didn't actually stay in the Mexican Hat lodge, but opted for a place a bit cheaper down the road. And we didn't actually eat at the restaurant because it wasn't open when we were needing food (it opens at 5pm). We did, however, walk down the highway/main road later in the evening to get a beer there because that was about our only option for booze in town. We sat at the outdoor bar, got served by a woman in overalls, and watched a cowboy cooking steaks over a fire. There was a grill swinging above the fire, hence the famous swingin' steaks. They looked amazing and we were kicking ourselves the whole time we were there for not holding out on food. To make up for it, we had Polygamy Porter- why only have one?! Even if they were not of a high percent (yay Utah), PP were pretty good. At one point, I wandered inside the lobby of the lodge and watched (I think the owner) rolling cigars or cigarettes, and admired the many, many John Wayne photos everywhere. If you've been on the road in the southwest, you know that just about everywhere claims to be his home. All in all, it's a place oozing with rustic character. I wish I'd stayed the night, and I wish I ate a steak, but there's always next time!

    Burger platter...
    Justin S.

    So you're visiting Monument Valley and the closest non-outrageously priced lodging is in a town called "Mexican Hat." What is a Gringo to do? My trusty travel sidekick and I were literally so psyched for this town that we talked about it for weeks before our trip. It was like "OMG, Mexican Hat... Can. Not. Wait." A zip through Mexican Hat reveals that if you zip at more than 5 mph, you'll miss it. I love it! According to TripAdvisor, The Swingin' Steak is "#1 of 2 restaurants in Mexican Hat" (sorry to their non-winning competitor!). The premise of a steak-themed open-air restaurant where a (veritable) cowboy cooks your meat on some kind of oscillating grill was really just too much to resist. OK, let me get to the point... After a long day's drive down to the Monument Valley area, plus a rigorous jaunt through the "Unimproved Navajo Nation Park" (our car was not amused), a stop at The Swingin' Steak for some meat and brew was "oh-so-necessary." Placed alongside a motel, it's a super low-key place for a nice bite and to exhale. I ordered the burger platter which came with a huge slice of Texas Toast, beans and a lightly dressed salad. My friend went for the veggie burger variation which she said was pretty good. Truthfully, it's a bit overpriced ($13 for the burger platter), but given our location and relative desire for a chill establishment, it was more than satisfactory. One thing to mention is that our Dos Equis beers were 3.2% abv (ish) since this is Utah. Kind of lame... I would've brought a flask had I known! All told, a memorable and enjoyable experience. Sit back in this fine desert locale and just take in the other tourists (How does Eurotrash act in the southeastern Utah desert!?) That alone makes it worth it!

    Swinging steaks
    Rowena B.

    Not worth the money at all. And when you leave you stink like smoke worse than the sweat you've been stinking up in the hot sun! I had to wash my hair before going to bed! And the service was very bland to say the least. I know there's not much in the way of food choices in town but next time if I ever choose to stay here again (doubt it) I'll eat at the other place. Yeah the steaks swing but that doesn't make anything taste better. The menu states that for tables over 5, it's an automatic 20% gratuity added to the bill. For everyone else, it's 18% gratuity and 7% tax. The menus very limited, there's two 8oz steaks for about $24 each, a 14oz for $36 and 18oz for $40 as well as a burger for about $15. We got an 8oz each. The steak was good flavour-wise, mine was slightly overcooked, hubbys was perfect but I didn't bother sending mine back. The sides were very ordinary and basic. According to the website the beans are meant to be soupy, but the garlic toast had no traces of garlic at all. We also had 3 beers, all of them $4 each and no taps. Total bill came to OVER $70!! And more than $10 of that was for the forced grumpy gratuity!! WTF!

    Delmonico steak dinner
    Eileen H.

    We stayed at a nearby hotel. Fellow guests recommended this restaurant. The menu is all about beef. We ordered the Delmonico steak dinner medium rare and shared it. The wait staff was nice enough to provide a second plate. The steak was cooked perfectly. The quality of the beef was fantastic. The swinging apparatus used wood which provided a nice flavor. The sides were simple but tasty. The atmosphere was casual and welcoming.

    the front of the building

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    5 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

    A outdoor place complete with a swinging Grill. The food is prepared over a wood fire. The ambiance is simple but the food is what counts

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    7 years ago

    The Swingin' Steak serves the best steaks in the world. Little more needs to be said.

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    17 years ago

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    14 years ago

    Nice ambiance, Nice service. Very good meat. Very nice place.... lost in nowhere

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    16 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    You haven't had a steak till you had one of JD's, swung thru the juniper fire pit. Well done JD...I mean rare, ;)

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    14 years ago

    Great food. Awesome crew. I look forward to hanging out here for the next few weeks during the shoot.

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    9 years ago

    Great outdoor atmosphere and a fabulous steak. Good find in the middle of the desert.

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    Page 2 of 3

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    Review Highlights - Mexican Hat Lodge

    Once we ordered, the meat was quickly put on the swinging grill to sear by an attentive and watchful grillmaster.

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    Burger King - Classic Wrap
Spicy Wrap
Honey Mustard Wrap

    Burger King

    3.4(47 reviews)
    37.4 mi
    $

    **July 2026: Tuesday Afternoon**…read more This Burger King in Kayenta was a great pitstop for our drive to and from the Four Corners Monument. It not only had a convenient EV charge right next door, but it had open bathrooms. Walking in, I felt like I'd been transported back to the 1980s and early 1990s. The whole place had that classic warm-toned aesthetic that feels very much like a vintage Burger King from that era. What really makes this location special is the Navajo Code Talkers exhibit inside. The owner is the son of a Navajo Code Talker, and the display honored Native American service members who used their language to create an unbreakable code during World War II. The Japanese military was never able to decode their messages, and the code talkers played a key role. The exhibit includes artifacts, photos, and literature about these heroes, and it's a powerful reminder of their contribution to the war effort. I also treated myself to a cookies-and-cream Oreo sundae, which was cool, creamy, and perfect for a hot day. Between the retro vibe, the meaningful museum, and the solid fast food, this was easily one of the most unique Burger Kings I've ever visited.

    Our food was served hot and in a timely manner. The employees were friendly and helped when asked…read morefor things. The restaurant was clean. I only used the women's restroom and I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars. One stall was out of order and it looked very used overall. Besides the great tasting, hot food, the restaurant honored the Navajo Code Talkers. The owner of the restaurant, his father was a Code Talker and I counted its privilege to patronize here, thus supporting an American Hero's family. There are display cases with information tat I thought was very interesting.

    Photos
    Burger King - The back of the exhibit.

    The back of the exhibit.

    Burger King - Royal Crispy Sandwich, Chicken Fries, Chicken Nuggets, Original Chicken Sandwich, Drink

    Royal Crispy Sandwich, Chicken Fries, Chicken Nuggets, Original Chicken Sandwich, Drink

    Burger King - Classic Wrap
Spicy Wrap
Honey Mustard Wrap

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    Classic Wrap Spicy Wrap Honey Mustard Wrap

    Burger Boy Drive In - A piece of hair that my partner pulled out of their mouth from the burger. Unknown how much of the hair was eaten

    Burger Boy Drive In

    4.1(165 reviews)
    71.7 mi
    $

    This is a local spot where you pull up, park, and staff come out to you to grab your order. After a…read morelong day of driving, this was definitely what I needed. Something easy and fast! They had a ton of different, classic options to choose from. This is your typical drive-in burger spot. The staff gave some suggestions, which I appreciated since it was my first time there. My group ordered the chicken fried steak sandwich, the fish sandwich, sweet potato fries, and the jala bites. The food was hot and tasted good. I know you're wondering why we got fish, but I wanted something light! It didn't taste fishy and was yummy for a random joint in Cortez. The jala bites were a personal favorite, as they seemed homemade. It wasn't a classic jalapeno-cream cheese situation, but instead involved chopped jalapenos, nacho cheese, and it was all fried with a crispy outer shell. I'd come back for those alone! I'd definitely come back and try more. The price was fantastic too.

    A classic drive in! You don't see those a lot nowadays - most restaurants that still call…read morethemselves drive in end up being more like a walk in. I personally don't like eating in the car all that much, so we were glad to see that Burger Boy Drive In also had seating along the front. It works exactly the same as driving in - one of the car hops will come out and take the order, and then bring out the food. We dropped in a bit after 6:30 pm and the place was completely packed, with basically all the drive-in stalls taken. We sat down and placed our order at around 6:40 and didn't actually get our food until after the place closed at 7! I was amazed to see customer after customer drive in past closing and unfortunately having to be shooed away. Green Chile Burger, 1/4 oz ($6.29) - This burger starts with a buttered and toasted bun, spread with just a bit of mustard on the bottom, followed by shredded iceberg lettuce, pickles, sliced onion and tomato. Then comes a burger patty cooked smash-ish style - flattened with some nicely caramelized and crisp edges, but not as lacy as I would typically expect. The burger is cooked thoroughly until a bit dry in the center. I thought this burger would be absolutely doused in hatch chile, but it turns out they just spoon a bit on top of the center of the patty. It's slightly spicy and imparts decent flavor, but not as flavorful as I typically associate with green hatch. The chile unfortunately is completely drained and doesn't contribute much moisture, making the burger sadly on the dry side. The dab of mustard on the bottom does not do enough to make up for the overcooked patty. (3/5) Fries, Large ($2.79) - These are the typical commercial crinkle cut fries, fried until nice and crisp on the exterior and leaving a fluffy interior. Not much else to say. Fry sauce can be asked for and it's the standard commercial sauce, which works great as the fries aren't heavily salted. (4/5) Buenos Nachos ($6.29) - Interesting construction, with smashed tortilla chips on the bottom, chili and nacho cheese sauce smothering the smashed chips, an additional layer of whole chips above that, followed by a top layer of lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and onions. It's a pretty simple dish that works well together. The chili includes beans, but honestly isn't that flavorful though. (3/5) Burrito ($3.89) - I had no idea what to expect when I ordered this. It's basically a cheap frozen burrito that is deep fried. The meat puree inside is almost indistinguishable from textured protein, mixed with beans in a very salty and fatty mixture. The exterior is fried well to a crisp, without any leakage of the filling. (2/5) A lot of the 3 star ratings I give are because of major technical issues in the food. I can say that Burger Boy Drive In isn't really in that category. Instead, my rating is mostly due to food preferences. Hopefully my thoughts don't dissuade anyone from visited. Almost everyone seems to enjoy it, as the restaurant was pretty packed every time I drove past it. Bathrooms - I'm not sure there was one that was accessible for patrons. Maybe behind the building?

    Photos
    Burger Boy Drive In - The menu. All classic!

    The menu. All classic!

    Burger Boy Drive In - Bacon cheese burger

    Bacon cheese burger

    Burger Boy Drive In - View from street

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    View from street

    McDonald's - Filet o fish

    McDonald's

    2.5(53 reviews)
    37.4 mi
    $

    I usually do not review on chain restaurants but when i do there are for good reasons or when its…read morebeyond bad. This is also another one of those times I will be a devils advocate among my fellow yelpers and elites alike. Seeing most bad reviews here it seems to be due to long wait times and broken kiosk: But come on people, what does that have to do with the employees, the food or the restaurant? To a point yes but prime season when a bus and herd of tourists pulls up to the few employees thats available here in the middle of nowhere, what do you expect?? I came during off season, beautiful weather, definitely less people, no issues with kiosk or better yet some need to learn how to use mobile app to order their food like i did and got my food quick without issues. Compared to many McDonalds I have visited in many cities and states, this was actually one of my better experiences especially being in the middle of nowhere. Place was clean! Employees were super attentive to look around to clean and mop immediately as people left the tables. In Los Angeles, some employees can care less. The kids play area was also well kept and clean. They also have a family restroom in middle of restaurant close to kids play area. First time I ever seen that so thats a definite plus! My iced coffee was also made perfectly. So to the native employees here who truly take pride into their work, keep it up. My family acknowledge it and thanks you for keeping it clean for my child to have a safe place to play. Oh forgot to mention, they also have arcade games at each corner seats at the tables also!

    After my last two fast food experiences this place deserves a Michelin star. The dining room was…read morespotless, the staff was friendly, our order was accurate, and the food was exactly how it tastes at every other well operated Micky D's in the country. My only complaint is the country music, but when in Rome... Kudos to the morning crew on 7/21/26.

    Photos
    McDonald's - Inside

    Inside

    McDonald's - Double cheeseburger

    Double cheeseburger

    McDonald's - Minions

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    Minions

    Mexican Hat Lodge - steak - Updated September 2026

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